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Sony Music no longer dealing with soundtrack labels [UPDATE: La-La Land is back in]


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8 hours ago, Jay said:

I suppose it would be impossible for a US label, but maybe possible for a foreign one like Quartet or Music Box? 

 

Interesting! I wonder if labels could start using this as a 'loophole' to expand scores that Sony owns the rights for in the US only?

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17 minutes ago, Jay said:

I don't think there are too many scores that Sony Music got the rights to and then declined releasing it in other countries too

 

Sadly true, it'd be a pretty small list of scores that fall into the category of having different rights owners domestically and internationally.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 2/10/2019 at 3:30 AM, bollemanneke said:

we could do with a list of every OST Sony Music released.

 

I don't have that and I think it would be a really long list, but here are some additional Sony-owned titles I figured out, based on the list of composers Roger said were coming up soon from Intrada (so two of these -- or a Horner/Williams score -- might be possibilities, and then after two come out, none of them will be):

 

Jerry Goldsmith: I'm pretty sure everything Sony-owned of his has been expanded in definitive fashion, but this news presumably means that no reissues of stuff like First Knight, Congo, The Shadow, or The River Wild will be able to happen.

 

John Barry: Beat Girl (Columbia), Sophia Loren in Rome (LP was on CBS/Columbia, though I see a CD issue came out on Pendulum/PEG which I don't think is Sony-owned), King Rat (SoundtrackCollector mentions multiple LP labels including Sony and Columbia/Legacy, but they also mention Mainstream, from whom Intrada has licensed in the past), The Chase (Sony/Columbia), The Lion in Winter (Columbia), Chaplin (Epic), My Life (Epic), The Specialist (Epic), Across the Sea of Time (Epic/Columbia), Cry, the Beloved Country (Epic), The Scarlet Letter (Epic)

Basil Poledouris: Lassie (Sony Wonder), Free Willy, and Free Willy 2 (both Epic)... oh MAN how I hope the latter is among what Intrada has in the pipeline, as the Epic album only had three cues (about ten minutes) of Basil's score, and it's actually a big step forward from his first score: great development of existing themes as well as several new themes, as well as a more acoustic feel than the original, with lots of sweeping orchestral moments.

Hugo Friedhofer: Only possibility I can see is An Affair to Remember (Columbia/Epic)

Lalo Schifrin: Murderer's Row (original album on Colgems, which unlike its predecessor Colpix is still owned by Sony Music Group)

 

Yavar

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Several Patrick Doyle scores are affected as well, including Much Ado About Nothing (still my favourite of his, but I don't think there's anything missing from the CD, or at least nothing significant) and Frankenstein. I really wish the latter will see an expansion *someday*, with all the source music included.

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Hamlet, too. Considering the length of the film, that probably has some stuff missing on the album, but again I don't recall anything significant (and the album is really long as it is).

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On 2/7/2019 at 7:04 AM, crumbs said:

Shit, just saw the updated post from Mike. Shit! Please, please, PLEASE let a Matessino produced expansion of Hook be one of those two titles. I'll be devo if that admirable but heavily flawed first expansion is all we get from that score, simply due to this nonsensical bureaucratic decision.

 

I mean, as if we didn't need any more reasons to hate Sony after they sat on the Star Wars license for two decades and did nothing?

Agreed Sony Classical had the Star Wars license for two decades and did nothing to remaster the soundtrack except 3 re releases and 1 remaster of the original soundtrack albums for The Original Trilogy in 2017 for it's 40th Anniversary on both CD and Vinyl. I hope one day Mike Matessino gets to do proper remasters of the 1st 6 Star Wars Soundtracks someday have La Land Records work with Walt Disney Records together to put a proper release fully remastered out. Though likely won't happen anytime soon since Disney is so focused on the newer films at the moment. 

On 2/7/2019 at 10:06 AM, Jay said:

Here's a list of films scored by John Williams, whose original OST album was released on a label currently owned by Sony Music (RCA Records, Arista Records, CBS Records, Epic Records, etc)

 

1969 - The Reivers

1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1978 - The Fury (LP Re-recording tracks only, all film tracks owned by Fox)

1979 - 1941

1986 - SpaceCamp

1990 - Home Alone

1991 - Hook

1997 - Rosewood

1997 - Seven Years In Tibet

1998 - Stepmom

1999 - Angela's Ashes

1999 - The Phantom Menace (rights have reverted to Disney)

2002 - Attack of the Clones (rights have reverted to Disney)

2005 - Memoirs of a Geisha

2005 - Revenge of the Sith (rights have reverted to Disney)

2011 - The Adventures of Tintin

2011 - War Horse

2012 - Lincoln

2013 - The Book Thief

2017 - The Post

 

Here's the list again, except I've crossed out all that have already been expanded and bolded those that haven't, and removed the SW prequels since Sony Music has nothing to do with them any more.  In brackets, I put the film studio that owns all the music that wasn't on the OST.

 

1969 The Reivers [Paramount]

1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (La-La Land 2017) [Sony]

1978 The Fury (La-La Land 2013) [Fox]

1979 1941 (La-La Land 2011) [Universal]

1986 SpaceCamp [Fox]

1990 Home Alone (La-La Land 2015)

1991 Hook [Sony]

1997 Rosewood (La-La Land 2013) [Warner Brothers]

1997 Seven Years In Tibet [Sony]
1998 Stepmom [Sony]

1999 Angela's Ashes [Paramount]

2005 Memoirs Of A Geisha [Sony (International) / Disney (UK)]

2011 The Adventures of Tintin [Paramount]

2011 War Horse [Disney]

2012 Lincoln [Disney (US) / Fox (International)]

2013 The Book Thief [Fox]

2017 The Post [Fox]

 

People in this thread talk about Sony just hiring MM to expand these - it doesn't work that way.  As you can see, while Sony Music owns the rights to all these scores, various film studios own the extra music that wasn't on the LPs.  A third party needs to come along and work with the record label and the film studio to make expanded releases happen.  Even when we're talking about Sony the film studio, they are a completely separate entity from Sony Music so it doesn't matter that they both have Sony in the name.  It's the same process as licensing from Fox or Paramount or any other film studio.  It doesn't work.

 

Now, the STAR WARS (and I believe Indiana Jones) scores are a different story.  That's because George sold the music rights off in perpetuity originally, then Disney later bought them back.  So in that case, the same entity owns the music rights AND the film rights.  So those CAN be expanded by a major label (since Disney owns Disney Records, it's not a separate split label that shares a name like the others).  All these other scores are in a different situation and can't be expanded until Sony Music changes their mind (or they were already in the works before this letter went out).

Agreed the whole history of the Star Wars music rights Pre Disney is a mess.

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6 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Jerry Goldsmith: I'm pretty sure everything Sony-owned of his has been expanded in definitive fashion, but this news presumably means that no reissues of stuff like First Knight, Congo, The Shadow, or The River Wild will be able to happen.

THAT ... WAS ... CLOSE!!!

 

I don't find anything by Williams pre-2005 too regretable except maybe Hook. I hope one of the last titles will be a definitive Hook.

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  • 4 months later...

.......

22 minutes ago, Jay said:

Supergirl and Legend by Jerry are owned by Milan IIRC

Wasn't Supergirl, Silva?

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Milan definitely never owned Stargate in perpetuity, since Varese later released their own version.  The rights might just lie entirely with MGM

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Milan used to be famous for letting stuff go out of print rather quickly. Stuff like Conan the Barbarian was hard to find for years. Haven't kept track for a while, but the situation might at least not be significantly worse under Sony's ownership?

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On 8/1/2019 at 3:16 PM, Jay said:

Milan definitely never owned Stargate in perpetuity, since Varese later released their own version.  The rights might just lie entirely with MGM

 

Oddly Varese has their Stargate DE available on iTunes. Strange as MGM usually doesn't grant digital rights to 3rd Parties.

 

Perhaps this one's rights are a bit different - the DVD and Blu-ray releases in Europe are handled by Optimum. These things are so confusing.

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On 7/31/2019 at 10:45 AM, Jay said:

 

So now the key question is: what soundtrack albums, if any, did Milan get perpetuity rights for? I'm pretty sure we know they weren't getting perp rights as a rule (like Varese was, starting at some point in 1989) but I think it's possible that they did for some things. I would assume this would render any such things as un-expandable by the specialty labels, now.

 

Yavar

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1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

So now the key question is: what soundtrack albums, if any, did Milan get perpetuity rights for? I'm pretty sure we know they weren't getting perp rights as a rule (like Varese was, starting at some point in 1989) but I think it's possible that they did for some things. I would assume this would render any such things as un-expandable by the specialty labels, now.

 

Yavar

 

I would imagine whatever they have listed on the streaming sites. From memory these include Jungle Book (Poledouris), Billy Bathgate, Consenting Adults, Backdraft and Brazil.

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I didn’t think Disney granted perpetuity rights...that’s a major bummer about the Poledouris if so...of course the two Free Willy scores have already entered the “no hope” zone for the time being, it seems...

 

Yavar

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On 8/3/2019 at 1:56 AM, JTWfan77 said:

 

Oddly Varese has their Stargate DE available on iTunes. Strange as MGM usually doesn't grant digital rights to 3rd Parties.

 

Perhaps this one's rights are a bit different - the DVD and Blu-ray releases in Europe are handled by Optimum. These things are so confusing.

 

Stargate was an independent film distributed theatrically by MGM. The DVD was released by Universal in Australia.

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17 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I didn’t think Disney granted perpetuity rights...that’s a major bummer about the Poledouris if so...

 

Yavar

 

Yeah, but I think they've pretty much disowned that version of Jungle Book so...

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Quote

Stop with the doom and gloom. Things can change.

MV

 

Talk about mixed messages!

 

Quote

To be perfectly honest with you I have no idea when anything is coming out any more. I have thrown in the towel. I haven't a clue when things will be approved. And don't get me started on approvals and contracts! I swear, this is the year that everything seems to have gone to BLEEP!

 

MV

 

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  • 1 month later...

I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread.

 

But will there be other JW expansions done by Make Matessino?

 

Is the party really over or is he working on new stuff?

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I guess when we get closer to the Black Friday we'll know what scores Matessino has been working on this year, and if he expanded any score whatsoever. Until then, while we get some information, all we can do is speculate. I mean, the options can vary to an Star Wars box containing the complete scores of the original trilogy and the prequels to celebrate the release of Episode IX, to the 20th anniversary of Angela's Ashes to no score at all.

 

EDIT: Angela's Ashes OST was released by Sony, so we may cross that option, lol.

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